Cylinder Head

[Europa]

Finally, We were able to pull the head off this weekend.

Once the head was off, we noticed that #4 piston was extremely clean. It also looks like the head gasket blew toward the back of #4. The fire ring on the gasket was torn off from the rest. We also noticed that the #3 cylinder had lots of carbon deposits. When we inspected the head, #3 dome had jagged carbon deposits. Once we cleaned the deposits off the head, it was evident that something got lose in the cylinder and tore up the #3 dome. It also looks like the intake valve and seat was replaced on #3. Apparently one of the PO's took the head off, replaced the seat and valve, and just put the head back. We didn't see any attempt to smooth out the irregularities. You can see the marks (slight damage) on top of the piston as well on #3. My in-laws feel that the head can be rebuilt and used. I am just dumbfounded that someone will put a gead back on with this type of damage!

I searched for a used head and found one on eBay; interestingly on that head the #1 dome shows similar damage! Is it common for the TC engines to break a valve? Could it be a spark plug that broke off?

I am posting some pictures of the head and the top of the block. Not sure if you can see the damage.

Cylinder Head


Cylinder Head with #3 shown


Cylinder Head with #4 Gasket Deterioration


Block


Block with #3 Piston Shown


Cylinder Head with #3 After a Quick Cleaning


Cylinder Head with #3, another view

[So Cal Mark]

pics didn't come through. If you try to grind away all of the damage be careful not to enlarge the chamber too much. As long as there aren't any sharp edges to cause pre-ignition the head should be okay. Valves usually only break if they contact something.
It's odd to blow a head gasket on the back side of #4. I would expect that the head wasn't torqued properly; either the head bolts are streteched, or the threads are dirty/damaged. I would measure all of the bolt lengths and tap all of the holes before reassembling. Check the head for flatness too

[Europa]

Mark, I had trouble posting the pictures correctly the first time. I edited the post and looks like the pictures are visible now. I cam post them again.

We are being very careful with the head. Thanks for the advice. It is indeed odd that the gasket blew by #4. Given that the PO put the head back on without smoothing out the ridges/damage, I wouldn't be surprised if the head wasn't torqued properly. The cylinder head is warped, not my much. I am going to order a new set of head bolts.

I need your advice. Please help me to make sure that I am not overlooking anything. I wrote down all the suggestions y'all provided when I posted that I believe I blew the head gasket. So far we are planning to send the head out to clean, bead blast, shave etc.

Can anyone tell me (or pls provide a link) to the cylinder head (1983 Spider) specifications; how much can be shaved. It doesn't look like the head was shaved before. The block looks like it's in good shape. The cylinder walls looks a bit glazed. I do want to replace the oil pan gasket. In that case I will probably replace the engine mounts as well.

Given the above information (damaged head, head may not have been torqued properly, and the engine was certainly over heated) would y'all recommend that I pull the block apart? I want to get the car running as soon as possible, at the same time I want to make sure that I build this right.

Any other advice/suggestions?

[Europa]

Forgot to include the link on the eBay cylinder head. Notice that there is similar damage on #1.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0230217580

[So Cal Mark]

the head can be milled quite a bit. Most machine shops will stamp the amt they removed previously on the head somewhere. The problem you run into in milling the head excessively is cam timing and head bolt length. If the head nees 006-008 shaved it's not a problem. I doubt the head is warped more than that. You'll need to ensure that the head bolts don't bottom out when torqued. As the head gets thinner, the cams move closer to the crank and even though you can still tension the t-belt, the cams rotate to get the tension correct. The only solution is adjustable cam gears then. So unless your head is really trashed, I'd stick with it instead of a used head that you don't know the history of. Especially one that you know has suffered some damage.
As for the block, rotate the pistons down in each cyl for inspection. If you don't see any scuffing I'd leave it alone.

[Europa]

I apparently don't have this picture posting quite right yet. I edited the original post (again) and hopefully corrected the missing picture problem. Please let me know if you can see the pictures (I can!).

Rotated the pistons and inspected the cylinders, everything looks good. I am going to get the head done and get the car running again.

[pope]

I am not sure anything got loose in the #3 cylinder to cause that damage. That looks like detonation damage. But look to see if all the valve springs for that cylinder are there. Usually a piece of spring causes dings in the piston head. I dont see that kind of damage.

[Europa]

Pope, Looks like the intake valve and the valve seat was replaced by the PO. There are some hard ridges on the aluminum surface; would detonation cause that? I also see sharp marks on the #3 piston.

[So Cal Mark]

the water jacket next to #3 has serious erosion. It should be welded before reusing. I'd say the damage is from a nut or bolt that was loose in the cylinder. I'd bet that head has some good warpage too; it looks like the gasket was starting to fail between the cylinders also